Air purifier

ABSTRACT

An air purifier having an electrostatic filter and a charcoal filter for removing airborne impurities. The purifier has blower means for moving air therethrough and also includes air treating means in the form of an ozone generator or ultraviolet lamp. The charcoal filter has longitudinal openings which in a preferred construction are angled upwardly to move the output air toward the ceiling. Electrical control means are provided for the electrostatic filter, the blower, and the air treating means, including a safety switch which deadens the circuit when a cover portion of the purifier is removed.

United States Patent 11 1 Arff 1451 July 17,1973

[ AIR PURIFIER [76] Inventor: John H. Arff, 118 NE. 24th Avenue,Portland, Oreg.

22 Filed: Jan. 11,1971

21 Appl.No.: 105,344

[52] US. Cl 55/102, 21/74 A, 21/D1G. 2, 55/124, 55/138, 55/139, 55/278,55/279,

[51] Int. Cl. B03c 3/32 [58] Field of Search 55/102, 124, 126, 55/279,387, 278, 524, 514; 21/74 R, 74 A,

DIG. 2; 204/316, 319, 314

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,922,416 8/1933 Block 55/741,965,187 7/1934 Hartman 55/102 X 2,038,071 4/1936 Wilhelm.... 55/2782,019,186 10/1935 Kaiser 55/278 2,125,672 8/1938 Garrett 204/3142,628,083 2/1953 Rense v 55/279 X 2,908,347 10/1959 Roos 55/1322,941,265 6/1960 Isenberg et al. 21/74 3,071,828 1/1963 Cornell, Jr.21/74 3,509,697 5/1970 Dewey et a1. 55/276 Primary Examiner Dennis E.Talbert, Jr. AttorneyEugene M. Eckelman 57 ABSTRACT An air purifierhaving an electrostatic filter and a charcoal filter for removingairborne impurities. The purifier has blower means for moving airtherethrough and also includes air treating means in the form of anozone generator or ultraviolet lamp. The charcoal filter haslongitudinal openings which in a preferred construction are angledupwardly to move the output air toward the ceiling. Electrical controlmeans are provided for the electrostatic filter, the blower, and the airtreating means, including a safety switch which deadens the circuit whena cover portion of the purifier is removed.

2 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENIED JUL 1 7 ma sum 1 or g 3-1 f HI if:JOHN HARP}? JK/ l I ENTOR.

y I wa m 88 I8 :2 IO U l ATTY PATENTEU JUL 1 7 ms 3. 7 4 5 7 5 0 sum 2or 2 FIG. 3 14 R1 4 I'WO 1H1 H II" 0 W 2 w I 70 a: I y W 1-! 70 u l IFIG. 5

56 FIG. 4

JOHN H. ARFF M/r B I AIR PURIFIER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Thisinvention relates to new and useful improvements in air purifiers.

Air purifiers have heretofore been provided for filter ing airborneimpurities such as dust, pollen, smoke, and the like. Such purifiers,while removing dust particles and the like which are capable offiltering out, have not been completely efficient in that they do notpurify the air. Such prior apparatuses have also relied solely uponcharcoal filters to remove odors in the room. Such charcoal filters,however, are not capable of removing extensive odors, at least with anyefficiency.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the invention and forming aprimary objective thereof, an air purifier is provided which overcomesthe disadvantages of prior art devices in that it efficiently filtersout airborne particles and also is capable of removing odors and otherimpurities heretofore not being capable of being filtered.

A more particular object is to provide an air purifier which includes incombination an electrostatic filter, a charcoal filter, and air treatingmeans such as an ozone generator or an ultraviolet lamp.

Another object is to provide in an air purifier of the type described anovel charcoal filter which comprises charcoal-impregnated cardboardhaving longitudinal openings which are inclined upwardly to move outputair upwardly toward the ceiling.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an air purifier ofthe type described having novel cutoff switch means operatingautomatically to deaden the circuit to the entire system when the coverof the purifier is removed.

The invention will be better understood and additional objects andadvantages will become apparent from the following description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferredform of the device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a longitudinal verticalsectional view of the invention taken on the line l1 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken on the line 2-2 ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the charcoal filterconstruction, taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a modified form of air purifying means utilizedin the filter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring in particular toFIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the present purifier comprises a rigid base having anintegral, transverse wall or partition 12 at about the center betweenthe inlet end 14 and the outlet end 16. Wall 12 is secured in atransverse groove 18 in the base 10, FIG. 2, by a press fit or by othermeans such as by an adhesive.

The purifier has a cover 20 with an integral reinforcing plate 22secured to its under surface, as by screws 23, FIG. 1. Plate 22 has atransverse groove 24 on its lower surface for removably receiving thetop end of wall 12. Cover 20 comprises a box-like walled enclosure openat the bottom and having the bottom edges of its side and rear wallsengaged in a groove 26 provided in the upper surface of said base. Thecover is removably secured to the base by screws 28 extending throughthe upright wall 12 and having threaded ends projecting throughapertures 30 in the top wall of the cover for receiving nuts 32. Uponremoving the nuts 32, the cover can be taken off whereby access may behad to interior parts. In removing the cover, the bottom edges of theside and rear walls thereof disengage from groove 26 and the top plate22 disengages from the top of wall 12.

Cover 20 has openings 34 on its inlet and outlet ends, FIG. 2, and theseopenings are covered with a mesh material 36 such as screen. The coverhas a carrying handle 38 on the top thereof.

Central wall 12 has an opening 40, FIG. 1, and supported on this wall atthe opening is a blower or fan 42. Blower 42 is secured on the wall 12by suitable brackets 44, and upon operation thereof is adapted to moveair from the inlet end 14 to the outlet end 16, namely, in the directionof arrow 46, FIG. 2.

Mounted in the housing just inside of mesh covering 36 at the inlet end14 is an electrostatic filter 48. Such filter is of conventionalconstruction wherein airborne particles are subjected to an ionizingaction to give them an electrical charge and then are subjected to acollecting section including oppositely charged plates wherein theparticles are deposited on such plates. Filter 48 has a pair of integralfingers 50, FIG. 2, arranged to be removably secured to the wall 12 byscrews 52. The electrostatic filter may be removed from the housing forcleansing simply by removing holding screws 52.

The present air purifier also has a filter 56 disposed at the outlet end16. Filter 56 comprises a cardboard filter impregnated with charcoal.Such charcoal is attached to the cardboard by water glass, and apreferred charcoal used herein is coconut shell charcoal since it isextremely efficient in filtering out large and small particles, even gasparticles. With particular reference to FIG. 4, filter 56 comprises aplurality of parallel cardboard plates 58 between which are attachedcardboard cell-like filler members 6'0. According to the presentinvention, the plates 58 are inclined upwardly, best seen in FIG. 2,whereby the output from the filter 56 is directed toward the ceiling.Thus, not only does the output from the present purifier force warm airoff the ceiling area but also prevents the output from impingingdirectly against'occupan'ts in the room. The cell-like structure offilter 56 provides a large area for exposure of the air to the charcoalfilter material and thus serves to effectively filter out any particleswhich still are present in the air after passing through theelectrostatic filter.

The side walls of the housing have one or more tabs 62 which projectlaterally and are arranged to hold the filter 56 in place. The tabs 62are located selectively to hold the filter 56 in place but allow thefilter to be re moved by pulling it upwardly, thus allowing the filterto be readily removed and installed.

Forming a part of the present purifier are treating means which in oneembodiment, FIGS. l-3, comprises an ozone generator 64 mounted on abracket 66 in turn secured to the wall 12. Preferably generator 24 ismounted adjacent the upper end of the apparatus. Such generator treatsthe air flowing through the present device to provide additionalpurification in removing odors which may not be removed by the twofilters and also in killing bacteria and other living organisms.Generator 64 comprises a structure of a type wherein a tube having agaseous filling is subjected to high voltage which produces a radiationof energy through the tube for forming allotropic oxygen or ozone.

With reference to FIG. 5, an ultra-violet lamp 68 may be installed inthe purifier in lieu of the ozone generator 64. The lamp 68 is mountedin end sockets 70 supported on a bracket 72 secured to the transversewall 12. Shield 74 extends over the top of the lamp to reflect the raysdownwardly. Lamp 68 serves to purify the air passing through the deviceby killing bacteria.

The air purifier includes suitable electrical control means foroperating the parts thereof. For example, a transformer 76, FIG. 1, isprovided for producing the high voltage necessary for the ozonegenerator 64. Such transformer is shown in full lines in FIG. 1 but isshown in phantom lines in FIGS. 2 and 3 for clarity of other parts. Inaddition, a transformer 78 is provided for reducing the AC circuit to alow voltage system for the blower 42. A blower control switch 80 isprovided, FIG. 3, having on-off control means 82 and speed control means84. With reference to FIG. 2, the base has a bottom recess 86 in whichis seated a control switch 88 for the ozone generator 64. The latterswitch has an off position and preferably two or more positionscontrolling the output of the generator 64. The main input circuit iscontrolled by a safety switch 90, FIG. I, having a spring operatedswitch arm 92 extending down into a recess 94 in the base 10. Recess 94intersects the groove 26 and the end of arm 92 extends into the groove26 for engagement by the bottom end of cover 20. Switch arm 92 isarranged such that when the cover 20 is in place it moves the arm downand closes the switch 90 so that the circuit is activated but when thecover is removed switch arm 92 springs up to open the circuit. Suchcomprises a precautionary arrangement whereby the fan and tubes 64 or 68are without power when the cover is off.

In accordance with the present invention, an air purifier is providedwhich not only removes substantially all airborne'impurities, includingdust, pollen, bacteria, and the like but also removes odors and thelike. The impurities that are not filtered out by the electrostaticfilter are filtered out by the charcoal filter. Further yet, theozonegenerator treats the air to kill bacteria as well as neutralizeodor particles. The ultraviolet lamp 68 of FIG. 5 treats the air incombination with the two filters in that it kills living organisms thatmay have passed through the electrostatic filter.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herein shown anddescribed is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and thatvarious changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may beresorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention or thescope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my' invention, I claim:

1. An air purifier comprising a. a housing having an inlet end and anoutlet end,

b. an electrostatic-type filter in said housing located adjacent to saidinlet end, l

c. a charcoal filter in said housing located adjacent to said outlet endand havinga plurality of longitudinally extending cell-like openingsinclined upwardly to direct output from the housing toward the ceiling,

d. blower means in said housing located between the inlet and outletends thereof for circulating room air through said housing from inlet tooutlet ends for subjecting the air to the filters,

e. air treating means in saidhousing comprising an ozone generatorarranged to kill bacteria passing through the housing and to remove odorfrom the arr,

f. and an electric circuit for said ozone generator including regulatingmeans for the voltage output of said ozone generator.

2. The air purifier of claim 1 wherein said air treating means comprisesan ultra-violet lamp and said charcoal filter comprises coconut shellcharcoal.

1. An air purifier comprising a. a housing having an inlet end and anoutlet end, b. an electrostatic-type filter in said housing locatedadjacent to said inlet end, c. a charcoal filter in said housing locatedadjacent to said outlet end and having a plurality of longitudinallyextending cell-like openings inclined upwardly to direct output from thehousing toward the ceiling, d. blower means in said housing locatedbetween the inlet and outlet ends thereof for circulating room airthrough said housing from inlet to outlet ends for subjecting the air tothe filters, e. air treating means in said housing comprising an ozonegenerator arranged to kill bacteria passing through the housing and toremove odor from the air, f. and an electric circuIt for said ozonegenerator including regulating means for the voltage output of saidozone generator.
 2. The air purifier of claim 1 wherein said airtreating means comprises an ultra-violet lamp and said charcoal filtercomprises coconut shell charcoal.